Open-world games have changed a lot over the years. However, one consistent thing that appears across most large-scale open-world adventures is the ability to engage in some sort of crafting of weapons, armor, potions, or other useful objects.
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From survival games to RPGs, there are a huge number of open-world games that give players the ability to engage in intriguing crafting and building using a variety of materials. From the simple and small to the enormous and incredibly useful, crafting in modern games has become a world of open possibilities. These are the best open-world games with great crafting.
Updated on November 12, 2025, by Mark Sammut: Who does not love a good open-world crafting game? We have updated this article with new galleries, along with adding Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 as a recommendation.
Raft
Get Creative & Craft Everything
Raft
- Released
- June 20, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
The name is almost Craft, and while that might just be a coincidence, the sheer scale of things that players can and must make in order to last long in this seafaring game is completely purposeful. Raft is an amazing game that allows players to come together with their friends and feel the real frustration of how difficult it is to survive when set adrift at sea.
Trying to gather materials and survive all while facing the threats of sharks and very dangerous survival meters, Raft keeps players on their toes and forces them to learn quickly how to craft and survive out on the open water.
Subnautica
Oceanic Vehicle Crafting
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Unknown Worlds Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
One of the very best at allowing players to craft in unique ways, Subnautica drops the player into an alien ocean and forces them to survive with only the materials they can scavenge and the items they can craft from the local resources. From building laser cutters to propulsion rifles and even vehicles and bases, Subnautica has a massive variety of crafting.
Players can choose to play Subnautica in several different ways, and with the scale of the open ocean where they can gather resources from, there is almost no limit to how much they can create in a single run of the game.
Skyrim
Abuse Crafting Systems To Level Up & Become Overpowered
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
The best way to describe all the systems in Skyrim are lovable, easy to abuse, and endless fun. Skyrim doesn't let players craft items in the same way they would in a survival game. Instead, it allows them to engage in several different creative activities. Enchanting, cooking, potion-making, and smithing are the main ways to craft in the game.
These classic RPG elements all offer a wide variety of options, particularly in the anniversary edition of Skyrim which added a lot of extra items to the game. Players can craft all sorts of armor and weapons and enchant them from scratch, and players have found ways to use potions and enchanting to brutally break the game by making super-powered weapons. Regardless of the easy breaks, Skyrim is a beloved game, and the crafting systems are wondrous.
Sons Of The Forest
An Improved Focus On Crafting To Conquer The Forest
Sons of the Forest
- Released
- February 22, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Endnight Games
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Open-World, Survival Horror
Though The Forest was already an incredible example of an open-world game with great crafting, the sequel surpasses it in these areas. Sons of the Forest brings all the wonder and terror of the original game to a much larger-scale sequel, with an open-world map four times as large as that of the first game.
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Additionally, the crafting system has been massively improved, giving players a whole new sense of freedom. The Forest was already a hugely fun survival sandbox that could be used for many creative crafting builds, but now Sons of the Forest has given players an even more freeing and expansive update to a similar style of crafting.
Terraria
Immense Freedom In Creativity & Crafting
Terraria
- Released
- May 16, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Re-Logic
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Vita, iOS, Android, macOS, Linux, 3DS, Stadia, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
Terraria is, without a doubt, one of the most impressive games of all time in terms of the open way it allows players to craft an entire world filled with items. The variety is almost unmatched by any other game, and Terraria has maintained a lot of love from the gaming community for years because of the highly impressive way the crafting makes it so replayable.
Terraria doesn’t have the most detailed crafting mechanic, and the game is more focused on exploration and combat than on crafting; therefore, even though the crafting is hugely impressive, a few open-world releases shine brighter in this area.
No Man's Sky
Traverse The Infinite Cosmos For Supplies
No Man's Sky
- Released
- August 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Hello Games
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Nintendo Switch 2
Of all the open worlds in gaming, few can lay claim to letting the player travel across the entire cosmos, and even fewer have quite the breadth and length of No Man's Sky. A game that originally came under fire on release for bugs and issues, it has developed into a fantastic game that allows players to seek out materials on billions of planets.
Crafting is one of the four "main pillars" of No Man's Sky, as players will have to craft all the upgrades to their suit, ship, and technology, while also crafting more valuable products that they can sell and use for more complicated items. The intense grinding for materials takes a lot of time, but it makes for a classic survival game format.
Ark: Survival Evolved
A World Filled With Creatures & Sci-Fi Blended With Old School Survival Crafting
ARK: Survival Evolved
- Released
- August 29, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
Though it has a UE5 successor now that is arguably the best way to experience the game, Ark: Survival Evolved remains a fantastic example of an open-world survival game that blends genres and has a great crafting system. Players gain more Engram points as they continue leveling up in Ark, allowing them to create more and better tools, structures, and clothing, to name but a few.
It can be difficult getting to grips with the crafting systems in many games, but while Ark doesn't hand-hold too much in the early part of the game, players generally shouldn't be left feeling lost either. These are some of the hallmarks of a great crafting system, as it is both understandable and yet expansive and elaborate.
Starbound
Homes, Food, Weapons & Mass Blueprints: Craft Everything On An Alien World
Starbound
- Released
- July 22, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Chucklefish
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Sandbox
Although it has been nearly a decade since Starbound was released, it remains one of the most beloved games in the survival genre. Allowing players to venture out onto an unknown planet in a procedurally-generated 2D landscape, Starbound features a vast level of crafting from simple blocks and food all the way up to huge blueprints for much more imaginative ideas.
Starbound is a traditional survival game for crafting in many ways. Crafting tables are required for most things, complex blueprints need to be found before they can be used, and as players progress they will be able to put together better weapons and armor to defend them across a dangerous and unknown planet, as the player attempts to return to their spaceship with the parts needed for repair.
Valheim
High-Level Materials Grinding To Create The Future
Valheim
- Released
- February 2, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Iron Gate AB
- Platform(s)
- Linux, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
Valheim has been accused by some players of being too intricate and grindy as players who want to craft some of the larger and better items in the game are forced to hunt for materials, sometimes for a long time, before achieving their goals. Other players insist that the realistic experience makes Valheim one of the best open-world games available for crafting.
It is difficult to judge whether there is too much to the material-gathering process in any survival game, and it will come down to how much each individual player is willing to put up with, but Valheim definitely has a great crafting system and a wide-open world.
Rust
Competitive Base-Building Where The Crafter Is King
Rust
- Released
- February 8, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Facepunch Studios
- Genre(s)
- Survival
Rust is another game that is custom-built for pain and frustration. In large multiplayer servers, players could build large bases and craft some great materials and items using the unique crafting style, only to lose it all and have their world come crashing down around them in minutes.
Rust is one of the most intense open-world survival options out there, and while this game will forever cause players to go into a rage at their losses, there is always so much to create and build anew that most will end up returning to it eventually or finding similar games that can be equally brutal.